Eric Morrion steps down as CP president after 14 years

Eric Morrison has stepped down as president of the Canadian Press after 14 years, the news agency has announced.The move comes after Morrison spearheaded a two-year initiative to revamp CP's web presence and multimedia capabilities during a very volatile time for the almost century-old news service.

"He was the driving force behind technological innovations in areas such as web, mobile and video, which transformed CP into a multimedia news agency, and he was passionate about delivering on the organization's core mission of providing trusted, round-the-clock, real-time news and information in English and French for all media platforms," said the CP board in a statement.

In 2010, Morrison received the President's Award from the Radio and Television News Directors Association, the organization's highest award.

The newswire, which began as an act of Parliament, has come under increasing financial pressure in recent years since the departure of key members, including the Sun Media newspaper chain, of which QMI Agency is a member.

In 2010, the service stopped being a co-op when Torstar Corporation, The Globe and Mail and Square Victoria Communications Group announced they invested in a new for-profit entity, Canadian Press Enterprises Inc., to take over its financially troubled operations.

The Canadian Press has been reported to have a pension shortfall estimated at $34.4 million.

"The structure to allow the future success of The Canadian Press has now been put in place and the company has thriving digital products and services and an award-winning collection of journalists, so now is the perfect time for a change," Morrison said in the release on Tuesday.

An interim leadership board will oversee the agency's day-to-day operations while it searches for Morrison's successor.

The team will be led by Scott White, CP editor-in-chief, and Sandra Clarke, CP chief financial officer. Also included on the team are Jim Jennings, associate publisher of the Globe and Mail, and Neil Campbell, director of business development at the Toronto Star.